Prices and Wages by Decade: 1830-1839

The 1872 Report of Commissioners on Bureau of Labor Statistics to the [New Hampshire] Legislature is an incredibly rich source of wages dating from the 1830s; pages 41-45 focus on 1830-1840.

This publication tells the salary of a Presbyterian reverend for 1833 in Chester and of a minister in Candia from 1819-1832 and 1833-1841. Source: History of old Chester [N.H.] from 1719 to 1869 by Benjamin Chase (1869).

This document shows how much the Caddo Indian tribe in the Louisiana/ east Texas area paid to purchase items such as frying pans, fur hats, children's shoes, men's boots, tobacco, sugar, coffee, corn, pork, whiskey, brandy, gin, dishes, calico cloth, scissors, needles, rifles, saddlebags, etc. Prices are recorded in a congressional document.

This congressional document shows prices for each month from 1825-1863 for many food items as well as tobacco, candles, hides, furs, leather, nails, whalebone, wool and more. Some items are priced are by the barrel or the ton, but others are priced by the gallon or pound.

Shows high, low and average "selling prices" for a variety of food items, as well as soap, hay, coal, etc. for each year during the 1830s. Prices in Cincinnati are shown on pages 799-801. Prices in Columbus for 1835-1839 are on pages 815-816. Both are part of a longer table that shows annual price data from 1825-1892. Source: Ohio Bureau of Labor Statistics, 17th annual report.

Table shows the price of coffee, sugar and tallow candles by the pound; corn and wheat by the bushel and hogs per each 100 pounds for each of these years: 1830, 1832, 1835, 1838, 1840, 1845, 1847, 1850, 1853, 1855, 1858, 1860, 1862. Source: Ohio Commissioner of Statistics, 7th Annual Report (1863).

The 1872 Report of Commissioners on Bureau of Labor Statistics to the [New Hampshire] Legislature is an incredibly rich source of prices dating from the 1830s; pages 41-45 focus on 1830-1840.

Unless noted otherwise, the extensive price figures below were collected by the state of Massachusetts, and reported in Comparative wages, prices, and cost of living (from the Sixteenth annual report of the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor, for 1885) by Carroll D. Wright. Most tables below report price data up through the 1860s.

• Furniture
  Bedsteads, bed cords, bureaus, tables and chairs are listed, with some prices dating to the 1790s.
• Carpetings
  Prices date to 1794.
• Cutlery
  Prices for table knives and forks back to 1780s, and pocket knives back to 1801.
• Paper
  Letter paper, priced by the sheet, dating to 1780s.
• Tallow, candles, soap, etc.
  Soap prices date to 1770s.
• Oils for Illumination
  Oils to light lamps and lanterns, dating back to the 1780s
• Fuel
  Charcoal, oak wood, pine wood, coal, etc.
• Miscellaneous, not elsewhere classified
  Price for brooms, brass kettles, brick, matches, tubs, tumblers, clocks, candlesticks, silver watches, feathers (by the pound), wine glasses and more. Prices for some items date to 1750s.
• Tobacco and snuff
  Prices for cigars by the dozen, and tobacco and snuff by the pound or (sometimes) ounce.  Tobacco prices date to 1760s.

This document shows how much the Caddo Indian tribe in the Louisiana/ east Texas area paid to purchase items such as frying pans, fur hats, children's shoes, men's boots, tobacco, sugar, coffee, corn, pork, whiskey, brandy, gin, dishes, calico cloth, scissors, needles, rifles, saddlebags, etc. Prices are recorded in a congressional document.

This memoir from Alexander Majors, "70 Years on the Frontier" tells some typical prices paid by trappers. Not a government document.

Unless noted otherwise, the extensive price figures below were collected by the state of Massachusetts, and reported in Comparative wages, prices, and cost of living (from the Sixteenth annual report of the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor, for 1885) by Carroll D. Wright. Most tables below report price data up through the 1860s.

• Clothing
  Hats, handerchiefs and stockings back to the 1760s; gloves, breeches, pantaloons, hose and coats back to 1780s; shawls and vests back to the 1790s; mittens and waistcoats back to the 1810s.
• Cloth
  Prices for some types of cloth back to 1770s
• Dress goods
  Prices for alpaca wool and calico by the yard, as well as batiste, cambric, cashmere, crape, gingham, gauze, lawn, muslin, linsey woolsey, plaid, poplin, satin, silk, velvet and many other fabric types, some back to the 1770s but most back to the early 1780s.  More fabrics are listed under the Dry Goods heading.
• Dry goods
  Prices for blankets back to the 1780s, cotton flannel, damask and denim, diaper cloth, shirtings, ticking, and more, some dating to the 1750s.
• Boots, shoes and leather
  Prices reported by the individual pair or by component such as buckles, leather, buttons, braid, fringe, etc. Detailed prices for style and type of shoe, boot, sandal, slipper, rubber overshoe, etc.  Earliest price dates to 1750s.
• Buttons and dress trimmings
  Button prices reported by the dozen.  Fringe and tape by the yard.  Earliest price dates to 1780s.
• Ribbons and laces
  Prices date to 1783.
• Small wares
  Yarn, needles, pins, embroidery silk, cotton and linen thread.  Some prices date to 1770s.

Emigrant's guide tells that ocean passage in a cabin with provisions would cost £12, or it could cost less than £5 for steerage with no provisions. Children traveled at half or one third price. This source includes an exchange rate table for pounds and dollars. (source)

Source: "Boston and Lowell railroad" in Massachusetts, legislative testimony published in 1867.

Annual editions of The Boston almanac detail railroad fare in 1837; railroad and stage fare in 1838.

Annual editions of this pocket guide for travelers include rates of fare for hackney coaches in New York: 1830, 1831, 1834, 1835, 1836, 1838, and 1839. Source: The tourist, or Pocket manual for travellers on the Hudson River, the western and northern canals and railroads.

This travelogue tells the author's travel expenses from New York to Toronto (includes steamboat, railroad, and mail coach fares as well as meals and lodging along the way). Also tells steam boat fare from New York to Albany and stage fare to Niagara Falls (from Fort Niagara).

This travelers guide includes fares for a number of New York excursions, such as from Albany to Schenectady on the Mohawk & Hudson Railroad and from Troy to Ballston Spa and Saratoga Springs on the Schenectady & Saratoga Railroad. Source: The Hudson River guide and tour to the springs (1839). Not a government document.

Maryland law fixed the fare of B&O Railroad's Washington branch at $2.50 in both 1832 and 1833. Source: 8th Annual report of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company (1834).

Issues of the American railroad journal contain advertisements and other fare announcements, such as: Paterson and Hudson River Railroad fare in 1832, Paterson and New York Railroad line fare in 1835, and New Jersey Railroad fare in May, 1837. In addition, the book Story of Railroad Passenger Fares (published 1942) lists fares on popular routes in the 1830s.

"The price of unsold wild lands is fixed and uniform, being $1.25 per acre; the terms ready money...." Land was purchased direct from the U.S. government. Source: The Emigrants' guide, or, Pocket gazetteer of the surveyed part of Michigan.

Lists 1830 selling prices at auction for Chicago lots bounded by State, Madison, Kinzie and DesPlaines streets. Also lists a few 1830s selling prices of lots in what is now the Loop of downtown Chicago. Source: Real estate values and historical notes of Chicago, published 1900.

Unless noted otherwise, the extensive price figures below were collected by the state of Massachusetts, and reported in Comparative wages, prices, and cost of living (from the Sixteenth annual report of the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor, for 1885) by Carroll D. Wright. Most tables below report price data up through the 1860s.

• Tools and implements
  Hoes, shovels, spades, files, etc. priced by the dozen or when sold individually.  Earliest price figure is from 1790s.
• Lumber
  Price for boards, plank, shingles, timber, clapboards, etc. by the foot.
• Tacks, brads and nails
  Priced by the pound.  Earliest prices date to 1790s.

This source describes payroll deductions taken for a "sick fund" which provided paid sick leave for employees. It also tells that a hospital stay was $4 per week for men, or $3 per week for women. Unhealthy conditions in textile factories are documented on pages 100-108. Source: U.S. Congressional Serial Set #5693.

Services listed include a consultation, venesection, tooth extraction, operations, amputations, midwifery, vaccinations, stitched and dressing, treatment for syphilis and gonorrhea, and various other fees. The entry for the Medical Association of Washington D.C. in The American Medical Almanac for 1840 shows the fee bill established in 1833.

Shows the fees for a doctor's visit and consultations, obstetrical services, vaccinations, amputations, assisting with fractured bones, dislocated joints and other medical services. Volume 18 of the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal reports on the Washington County (NY) Medical Society, including their fee bill for services.

This 1836 fee bill sets rates for medical services performed by the physicians of Pittsburg, it was published in the November 1897 issue of the Pennsylvania Medical Journal.

This list of fees for physicians in the New Haven, CT area was established in 1829 and was not revised until 1838. It set prices for day and night visits, consultations, mileage, parturition, venesection, cathartic, and emetic.

Annual tuition was $27. Average room rent was $7.50. Board ranged from $1.12 to $1.75 per week. Also gives rates for wood, lighting, washing and incidentals.

Shows tuition by the "session" of which there were two per year.

Chart from the Historian of the United States Postal Service shows price to mail a domestic letter. Not included are postage rates for ship and steamboat letters and "drop letters" (for local delivery), which were assigned different rates.

We recommend using the Library of Congress' "Chronicling America" website to find prices and subscription rates for individual newspaper titles in specific years. Click into the site and set the year boxes to your date range. Click "GO" and then check the "Show only front pages" box. If the price is not in the masthead, search for publisher's information somewhere in the body of the paper - often in the left column of the front page. Annual subscription rates are likely to be described there.

Emigrant's guide tells the price of ocean passage and the cost of trips by steamboat in Canada. Guide was prepared by published by His Majesty's Commissioners for Emigration in 1832.

1832 Emigrant's guide shows prices, wages, cost of rent, and more for upper Canada, lower Canada, and New Brunswick on pages 13-18.

The English book Stranger's Guide to Paris (published 1837) tells the cost to travel from London to Paris, costs to travel within France, food at certain inns, admission for a hot mineral bath, swimming lessons, ticket prices at theaters, and more. All prices are given in English pounds, shilling and pence, but there is an exchange rate table between English and French money and an explanation of French coinage on the previous page. Although this book is primarily for tourists, it shows prices for services not typically needed by tourists such as the price for funerals and cemetery plots. To find more, use the full text search feature to search for words such as sous, price, admission and francs.

Twelve Manchester families' income and expenditures are listed individually on pages 323-332. Shows how much each family spent per week on rent, various food items, coffee, tea, salt, soap, candles, etc. Source: Journal of the Statistical Society of London.

Shows average prices of bread in England for each year from 1660-1899 on pages 27-35. Source: Three Centuries of Prices of Wheat, Flour and Bread (not a government document). The introduction to this table explains that these prices are for the type of bread consumed by lower middle classes, not the "fancy bread." Price sources are provided on page 21-22.

Also calculates average house rent per house inhabitant. Does not include Ireland. Amounts shown in British currency. Source: Mulhill's Dictionary of Statistics, p. 236.

Emigrant's guide tells the price of ocean passage and the cost of trips by steamboat in Canada. Guide was prepared by published by His Majesty's Commissioners for Emigration in 1832.

Shows first, second, and third class fares on the Dublin and Kingstown Railway. Source: American Railroad Journal v. 4 (1835).

Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor, No. 87, Volume XX. Published March 1910.

This table shows average prices for wheat, rye, barley, and oats in Sweden for 1836 to 1900. Yearly consumption per inhabitant for wheat and rye can be found in another table on page 156 of this book.